Laxman Narasimhan officially started working as CEO of Starbucks about two weeks earlier than expected.
He’ll deliver his first public address as CEO of Starbucks on Thursday, during the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
Narasimhan has spent months studying Starbucks’ operations, including training as a barista, after being selected as a new CEO in September. The official transition was scheduled for April 1. He was previously the CEO of Reckitt, which owns products such as Lysol, Durex, and Mucinex. He has also worked with PepsiCo and McKinsey.
Narasimhan succeeds Howard Schultz, who is completing his third term as CEO.
As former CEO Kevin Johnson startled investors by announcing his retirement, Schultz returned about a year ago.
This time, Schultz stopped the company’s stock buyback programme for months, fought barista union proposals, and unveiled a new strategy to keep up with how the company’s business has changed.
Starbucks stock has climbed roughly 8% since Schultz’s return on April 4, raising its market value to $113 billion. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has dropped more than 13% in that time.
Starbucks announced in September that Narasimhan would take over for Schultz on April 1.
Narasimhan joined the corporation in October 2022 as the next CEO and has been working closely with Schultz, who has been serving as interim CEO since Kevin Johnson retired in April 2022.
“The board wishes to convey our heartfelt gratitude to our founder, Howard Schultz, for selflessly taking up the leadership baton when called upon,” Mellody Hobson, head of the independent Starbucks Board of Directors, stated in a statement.
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